The Guide Is Fixing His Regrets

“Lee So-Won, do you have a passport?”

So-Won was looking outside the window of the private room to soothe his boredom. He rolled his eyes as he recalled his passport after Tae-Woo’s question.

Passport… When he moved to Tae-Woo’s house, he saw it while organizing his luggage. Then there would be a passport somewhere in the drawer, but he couldn’t imagine what his passport photo would look like eight years ago.

“Why are you asking about my passport?”

So-Won asked why first. So-Won’s answer was going to change depending on Tae-Woo’s answer. If Tae-Woo asked him to show his passport, So-Won would be without one from that day on.

“We’ve got a request for an overseas dispatch.”

“Overseas dispatch? Isn’t that an S-level gate?”

“That’s right.”

But the answer was more unexpected than he thought. So-Won, surprised, looked at Tae-Woo with an uneasy expression.

An overseas dispatch.

Not all Esper in Korea goes to the gate that opens in Korea. High-grade Esper was sometimes dispatched to S-class gates that appeared in foreign countries.

It was scary. The S-level gate was on a different level from the other gates. It wasn’t for no reason that the difficulty level was S. There are many casualties, and if a monster from a dungeon break invades the real world, the area around it will become a mess.

Tae-Woo also went to an S-Class gate and returned with a hole in his body, and then he died, but there was another reason why So-Won was anxious.

The past has changed.

Tae-Woo was never sent abroad on his last life. When an Esper goes abroad, he must be accompanied by a guide. So-Won had never gone to a gate abroad after being a guide for eight years. So-Won doesn’t know when or what gate Tae-Woo goes to, but he never leaves the country.

“Must you go?”

So-Won asked as he clenched his fist tightly. He tried to hide it, but his voice was shaking with unease.

Tae-Woo quietly looked at So-Won, noticing the weird state he was in. So-Won knew he shouldn’t be fussing about this. The more he tries to force himself, the more difficult it would be for Tae-Woo. But So-Won was scared. He is afraid Tae-Woo would enter the gate and return with a serious injury. So-Won is afraid he’ll lose him without doing anything. So-Won began to think he could do anything for Tae-Woo in exchange for him not entering the gate.

“Okay. I’ll reject the request for overseas dispatch.”

However, contrary to So-Won’s worries, Tae-Woo nodded too easily. So-Won was surprised, and his eyes widened when Tae-Woo agreed.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

So-Won’s face brightened in an instant. He was so happy that he wanted to run to Tae-Woo right away and hug him hard, saying thank you.

But since So-Won could not act so immature, So-Won just smiled and tried to express his happiness with nowhere to go.

That’s how the crisis passed, and he thought peace would come again. Not long after, someone visits with a knock, knock.

“Come on in.”

The door opened with Tae-Woo’s voice. Soon enough, the person who came inside was an Esper Association’s management department employee. The same person recently rejected a request to release a bomb from Tae-Woo’s neck.

“Hello. It’s been a long time since the collar had been removed.”

“Yes…. Hello.”

Honestly, it wasn’t a welcome look. So-Won frowned because I didn’t know what I was here to say. Don’t tell me you’re going to some bomb on Tae-Woo. If that’s why he came, So-Won was willing to go to the management department and make a fuss.

So-Won, sitting on the sofa, faced the department staff with Tae-Woo. So-Won was a little nervous when he saw the man choosing his words momentarily. He must be high-ranking, so he probably didn’t come here to convey small things.

At last, his mouth slowly opened.

“Esper Kang Tae-Woo, I came here to discuss your overseas dispatch.”

There was only one reason.

“I heard you turned down the request, but… I’m sorry, but you’ll have to participate in this.”

So-Won’s eyes darkened, even though Tae-Woo had already said he would fulfill his request not to go. It seemed that the esper had never been changed to another person.

It was common for overseas dispatch to send S-class Esper, the same grade as the gate, to help target S-class gates opened to foreign countries. There are three S-class Esper in Korea, but Si-Hyuk and the others were dispatched due to Tae-Woo’s poor condition.

However, no matter how Tae-Woo’s condition improved with guidance that Tae-Woo was selected as a target for overseas dispatch.

“Does Tae-Woo have to go? He hasn’t healed yet, and he’s never been dispatched abroad, so why now?”

“The biggest cause was the safety device on the neck.”

In the end, it was because So-Won changed the past. So-Won began to become extremely anxious. He couldn’t stop thinking that he might have accelerated Tae-Woo’s fate while trying to change the future of his death. Class S gate and Tae-Woo’s death. The two words continued to haunt him.

So-Won bit his lips. Seeing his condition improve daily, he was relieved that Tae-Woo would not die anymore. He thought that all that was left was to heal his condition completely. But it didn’t seem like the case. Now So-Won had to worry about the future that would change.

” Lee So-Won.”

Tae-Woo quietly called So-Won’s name when he saw his body tremble. So-Won raised his head with a pale face.

“I’ll go alone.”

So-Won’s eyes widened, and he looked at Tae-Woo.

“Lee So-Won doesn’t have to go. So don’t worry too much.”

“What? Oh, no… Esper Kang Tae-Woo, that’s….”

The association employee who listened to Tae-Woo was very flustered.

The same was true of So-Won. So-Won blinked in surprise at Tae-Woo’s calm words and found his clenched hands turning white belatedly. He was worried that he would lose Tae-Woo again, but he looked scared in his eyes.

So-Won answered hurriedly.

“No, I’m not. If Tae-Woo goes, I’ll go too. I was just… I was scared because I heard it was an S-class gate.”

“You don’t have to overdo it. So-Won, please stay in Korea.”

“It’s really all right. If I send Tae-Woo alone, I cannot sleep because I’m anxious.”

When So-Won shook his head firmly, the association staff only spoke with relief.

“I’m sorry. We tried to reject the request in consideration of Kang Tae-Woo’s condition. But they knew the bomb from Kang Tae-Woo was removed and firmly requested him.”

The association employee sighed as if he were in trouble. He said the Esper Association did not choose Tae-Woo and send him away. Considering that the association could not easily refuse, it seemed that no matter what So-Won did Tae-Woo’s dispatch could not be prevented.

Suddenly, So-Won thought that if he put a bomb on Tae-Woo’s neck again, he might not go abroad. However, So-Won soon criticized his selfish thoughts. Due to his uncertain concern, he should not turn Tae-Woo into a monster with a black ring around his neck.

So-Won tried to quell his anxiety. If he does his best to guide him the rest of the time, nothing he is worried about will happen, he said, soothing himself. After that, So-Won really felt a little better, and he asked a question that popped up.

“When are you leaving?”

“Oh, as I briefly told Kang Tae-Woo in an e-mail, he will leave the country in three days. It is an S-class gate opened in Canada, and the gate will be targeted in a week.”

Canada, in three days.

So-Won mused over the words thoughtfully. The schedule was tight. Even if he was guiding day and night, it was unlikely that Tae-Woo’s condition would improve completely until he left.

Tae-Woo can’t even keep his peak condition in an A-Class gate. Should he start guiding right now instead, of course? So-Won looked at Tae-Woo seriously.

“It’s your first time being dispatched overseas, so I’ll explain briefly.”

An explanation continued for So-Won and Tae-Woo, who were dispatched overseas for the first time. So-Won concentrated on the explanation and engraved the contents in his head. However, it was his first time going abroad with Tae-Woo, but they were not going there to play, so he was worried.

After listening to the explanation for a few minutes, the association staff got up from his seat, saying he was going to go. So-Won and Tae-Woo also got up from their seats and saw him off.

An association employee about to leave the private room looked back with his hand on the doorknob. The man looked at Tae-Woo’s face momentarily and hesitated before opening his mouth.

“Kang Tae-Woo, I’m glad you’re feeling much better.”

The staff left the private room after leaving the words.